Hon. Rita Garman named AMBUCS 92nd 'First Citizen'

Yahoo

24-05-2025

The Honorable Justice Rita B. Garman has been selected AMBUCS 92nd First Citizen — an award given to 'leaders in the community who selflessly sacrifice of themselves for the greater good,' according to the AMBUCS website.
Beyond serving as a circuit judge and Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Garman has spent her life serving her community in a myriad of ways.
Public Servant, Judge, and Justice
Garman, who was raised in Aurora, began her career as a legal aid attorney, later becoming an assistant state's attorney.
She served for 49 years on the bench in Illinois, retiring in 2022 as the longest-serving female judge in Illinois' history.
Garman was first appointed associate judge in Vermilion County in 1974, then elected as a circuit judge in 1986 and appointed to the Fourth District Appellate Court in 1995. She later served on the Illinois Supreme Court for 21 years, including three years as Chief Justice from 2013-2016.
Governor J.B. Pritzker named Garman to the Order of Lincoln in 2024 — the highest civilian honor in Illinois, given to those who have displayed notable career achievement and public service.
Garman was the first female judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, the first female circuit judge, the first female justice on the Fourth District Appellate Court.
During her time on the Supreme Court of Illinois, she became the first Chief Justice to have served at every level of the Illinois judiciary — associate judge, circuit judge, presiding circuit judge, appellate justice, presiding appellate justice, supreme court justice, and chief justice, according to Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White.
As a Supreme Court Justice, Garman helped start a committee on child custody cases, to help ensure a more expedient process.
All told, Garman has received many awards recognizing her service as a judge and justice — the Illinois Judges Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harold Sullivan Award for Judicial Excellence, the Person of the Year Award from Chicago Lawyer Magazine, the Spirit of Lincoln Award from the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Public Interest Law Initiative Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Myra Bradwell Award from the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.
Community Service
Beyond her time serving as a judge and justice, Garman also served her community by singing in the choir at St. James United Methodist Church, as well as taking part in church committees.
Garman has also served on the Vermilion County 708 Mental Health board — a group which plans, reviews, and evaluates community programs and facilities providing mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities services to the residents of Vermilion County, according to the Vermilion County website.
Justice Garman was also one of the first women to serve on the Danville Noon Rotary Club.
Arts Patron & Advocate
Garman has spent her life dedicated to the arts, as well, serving on the board of directors for the Danville Symphony Orchestra. She was even named Emeritus Board Member.
In 1987, she established the John Sanders Scholarship — a scholarship named after an English teacher that worked at Danville High School.
Of Garman, Patrick Halloran — Chair of AMBUCS' First Citizen board — said she is a 'pioneer, a visionary, a well-respected member of the Illinois Bar Association, a selfless example of service, a luminary in our community, we are incredibly proud to recognize this amazing woman.'
'[Garman] exemplifies the definition of what it means to be a First Citizen by choosing to make a positive impact within the Danville community and for all who encounter her exceptional presence,' Halloran said.
A dinner honoring Justice Garman will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at the Turtle Run banquet center. The dinner is open to the public and $35 tickets can be purchased at the door.